Campus Connection

Speaker nominations accepted now

[caption id="attachment_35801" align="alignright" width="300"] Ryan McKelley, UW-L associate professor of psychology, was one of the speakers at UW-L's first TEDxUWLaCrosse event in November 2013.[/caption] UW-L is looking for anyone who has an idea to spread — in the spirit of TED. UW-L will be hosting the second annual TEDxUWLaCrosse event spring semester in late January or early February 2015 in the late afternoon on campus. The location and time are yet to be determined. Nominations for speakers will be accepted now through Oct. 31, 2014. Many are familiar with TED Talks, an award-winning video site that is a branch of the TED non-profit organization. TEDx events are independently coordinated to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. UW-L’s first TEDxUWLaCrosse event in November 2013 was such a success that a committee has aligned to coordinate another, and aims to make it an annual event, says Teri Holford-Talpe, UW-L staff member and a TEDx coordinator. This year’s theme will be “What Makes Us Pause.” Any students, staff or faculty member can nominate anyone from the La Crosse area to be on the January TEDxUWLaCrosse speaker list via an online survey. The survey will be open now through Oct. 31, 2014. Last year’s theme was “Turning Points,” and Ryan McKelley, UW-L associate professor of psychology, was one of the speakers. He got more satisfaction from the outcome of this talk than any journal article or book chapter he has written in his career, he says. The word spreads well beyond UW-L borders as talks are published at www.ted.com. “I can't tell you how many total strangers have contacted me to share how the talk personally impacted them,” says McKelley. “It has resulted in some new speaking engagements for regional high schools and as far away as Silicon Valley parent-teacher associations.” Like the 2013 event, this year the show will feature multiple speakers. All of the speakers will be given a time limit to allow for a range of views during the two-hour event. McKelley liked the time limit, which challenged him to hone his message. “I fully own the stereotype of the long-winded professor. There are some topics I could talk about for hours-on-end without getting bored,” he says. “Not surprisingly, that's not a very effective way to get information across to audiences. I write for professional publications because I have to, but I much prefer translating ideas to people outside my narrow specialties.” McKelley says academic psychologists are often rightfully criticized for not doing enough outreach to the public, or failing to translate the scientific findings in ways that make sense to people. “UW-L's choice to host this TEDx series is one way to help bridge that gap,” he says. “I can't wait to see the next TEDxUWLaCrosse event, and encourage people to nominate students, staff and faculty that might be interested in sharing their story.” Learn more about TEDxUWLaCrosse 2015 on the Facebook page. Questions? Contact tedx@uwlax.edu.